Hurricane police arrest man in rape of a teen

HURRICANE  Police here said they have arrested a man in connection with the rape of a 17-year-old girl earlier this month.

Police said the young woman had briefly become acquainted with the man before the July 7 assault. Investigators said the man tried to contact the victim last week and she called police. Police tracked him down at a St. George bar. In a statement, the Hurricane Police Department said the man provided a false name under questioning but was ultimately arrested.

Jaime Ovido Avila, 27, was booked into the Purgatory Jail on Sunday. Washington County prosecutors charged him Monday in 5th District Court with aggravated sexual assault and forcible sodomy, both first-degree felonies; second-degree felony forcible sex abuse; and false information to a police officer, a class A misdemeanor. Bail was set at $250,000.